I'm working with a new mantra. "Exercise every day." It's helping to keep me motivated. Last year I had all those races to motivate me, but this year, so far, with the injury, I won't be racing for the near future at least, and perhaps for a few months ... and who knows when I can sign up for the longer races I'd really like to be doing. (I am signed on for the Toad, but that's not til the end of September, and I remain optimistic about being fit to train over the summer for that one.)
Anyway, in the absence of races, I need another reason to get out of bed.
Exercise every day seems to be working well.
Ideally, I'd like to keep track of what exercise I'm doing every day, that hope to get on this blog more often to note that down. But practically speaking, my other life -- as a writer launching a new book -- has taken over, and I'm finding it difficult to find time to post here too.
Here goes (only going back as far as I can remember):
Feb. 18 - yoga, 60 minutes
Feb. 19 - run (slow), 21 minutes (Bechtel)
Feb. 20 - yoga with family, 60 minutes; strength exercises 15 minutes
Feb. 21 - spin, 60 minutes
Feb. 22 - run (slow), 40 minutes; strength exercises 25 minutes; plus exercises with physio, 30 minutes
Feb. 23 - spin/weights, 45 minutes; strength exercises 25 minutes
Feb. 24 - yoga, 60 minutes; strength exercises 25 minutes
Feb. 25 - run, 23 minutes (Wloo Park); strength exercises 25 minutes
Feb. 26 - run, 23 minutes, as fast as I could go, plus hills (Bechtel)
Feb. 27 - swim, 2500m; exercises with physio, 30 minutes
:::
And that's up to date. I hope to post here once a week as a way to keep myself honest. I'm trying really hard to keep doing the strength exercises every day. And honestly, I'm already noticing a big difference in my glutes. I was able to run hard up the hills yesterday. That seemed to be almost easier than running on the flat, probably because my glutes engage automatically going uphill -- and that's how I should be running all the time. My physio strongly recommends that I not consciously try to change my stride, lest I injury myself in the process of trying to force change. She says all of this strength work will get me where I need to go, and will change my stride naturally. Here's hoping.
My cardio fitness has really dropped off, and I'm finding that frustrating. Just 20 minutes of hard running yesterday had me feeling very fatigued. And my swim this morning was a challenge. So slow! Because I know what hard work it takes to get well-conditioned for distances and speed (running, specifically), I'm sort of dreading all the base work that will need to be done in order to get myself back up to marathon fitness again. It's going to be hard!
No, it's going to be a challenge. And I don't mind being challenged. Not at all.
Monday, February 27, 2012
Sunday, February 12, 2012
A good week
This past week turned out to be a good one. I've done some exercise every day, including a run on Thursday evening. The sports doctor cleared me to run 10-15 minutes 3x a week. It's not much, but it's something. I felt good and strong and would have kept going, but I'm trying very hard to follow the recommendations and speed recovery. I was definitely in a little more pain the next morning, but nothing compared to what it was.
No stress fracture, so I'm cleared on that front. And I start physio tomorrow morning.
Planning a second run this afternoon, again no more than 15 minutes. But that's okay! It's something.
I enjoyed the spin/weight class on Thursday morning and signed up for the next three. I also signed up for a kundalini yoga class starting in April. Core work! I know I need it. And then hopefully the endurance and the ability to train for endurance will flow from that.
Unfortuantely I cannot withdraw from the 30km race (no refunds), which I will not be able to complete. I could go and walk the course instead, but I don't think I want to do that. I'm just going to accept a did-not-finish, and know that it's part of the journey. I wonder how quickly I will heal and whether I'll be able to get back to training for longer distances. The crazy thought in my head as I ran those ten minutes on Thursday evening was: I'm totally going to do an ultramarathon.
Heh. Baby steps. Have to get back to 5km distances first. Sigh. However, I will say that I did not feel out of shape in the least. I'm sure I could have gone 8-10km without any problem (other than the problem of potentially re-injuring myself). But I felt very strong, and have felt nice and strong all week during the various exercise activities.
No stress fracture, so I'm cleared on that front. And I start physio tomorrow morning.
Planning a second run this afternoon, again no more than 15 minutes. But that's okay! It's something.
I enjoyed the spin/weight class on Thursday morning and signed up for the next three. I also signed up for a kundalini yoga class starting in April. Core work! I know I need it. And then hopefully the endurance and the ability to train for endurance will flow from that.
Unfortuantely I cannot withdraw from the 30km race (no refunds), which I will not be able to complete. I could go and walk the course instead, but I don't think I want to do that. I'm just going to accept a did-not-finish, and know that it's part of the journey. I wonder how quickly I will heal and whether I'll be able to get back to training for longer distances. The crazy thought in my head as I ran those ten minutes on Thursday evening was: I'm totally going to do an ultramarathon.
Heh. Baby steps. Have to get back to 5km distances first. Sigh. However, I will say that I did not feel out of shape in the least. I'm sure I could have gone 8-10km without any problem (other than the problem of potentially re-injuring myself). But I felt very strong, and have felt nice and strong all week during the various exercise activities.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
This week's work
This afternoon I'll be seeing the sports dr for the follow-up on the last test (the bone scan). I can't help but think that the results will be good, because I'm almost certain my family dr (who also received the results) would have contacted me if he'd had concern. But. Won't know for sure until this afternoon.
Depending on the results, I hope to have a better idea of when I might be able to return to running. Or perhaps more precisely how.
Meantime, I've been plugging away at the alternatives available to me, and feeling pretty good about it on the whole.
- I went for a 6km walk on Friday night. Unfortunately, I wore my heavy winter boots which apparently were not fully broken in, because by 3km they were causing blistering on my heels. And then I had walk all the way back again. Ouch. Next time I will wear my running shoes, regardless of the weather.
- Hot yoga class on Saturday afternoon. I can go to that class now that I'm not doing my long runs. It felt too easy, but there are some good elements to it; some stretching, some strength-work.
- Went for a short walk on Sunday afternoon. It was a beautiful sunny day, and in fact the forest trails were deep with mud. I wore my rainboots, the only footwear that didn't chafe the blisters (still wearing them, actually). I only went about 2km; mostly took photos and just enjoyed being outside. I also ran about 100m without pain, but then the pain started up again ... but those 100m were 100m of pure bliss. Reminded me what I'm waiting for. I hope I'll remember and appreciate the joy when the opportunity to run comes again.
- Tried to swim on Monday morning, but there was a problem with the chlorine which the early-morning lifeguards couldn't fix. Went home and straight back to bed. That made Monday's evening's hot yoga class feel easier than usual. Lots of downward dog flows which really work the core and upper body. I felt strong and at ease. Nice.
- Spin class yesterday morning. My legs were going super-fast. I felt strong throughout. Maybe my body likes resting.
- Swim this morning. 2500m. I did the first 2000m in 42 minutes, or slightly less. But I was tired by that point. I finished the last 500m on principle only and did not push myself too hard, just swam it out. Slowly. That last 500m took me 12 minutes. I aim for 10, and probably do most splits in about 10.5. My goal is get faster and finish my 2000m in under forty minutes. Which would still be slow, but would show some improvement. I haven't really gotten any faster in the last six months. All I seem able to do is improve endurance rather than speed. I just swim, however. Well, I guess that's basically how I trained when I ran, too. I just ran--as fast and as far as I could.
- Tomorrow morning I am going to try out a spin/strength class at a facility I've never been to before. It's not too far from my house. The price is comparable to the spin class I'm currently taking BUT it's only 45 minutes, which sounds short. I'm doing a free trial. We shall see.
- Also doing a free trial at a different gym on Friday morning. This is especially short, only half an hour, but it's a strength class. I've never done strength or resistance training, and my sense is that's where I'm headed with this injury -- working to create balance in the muscle groups, stability in my core. This gym is very nearby, which is why I'm trying it, though all of its classes are short, no more than half an hour. I could do strength/resistance training on my own -- my husband is a kin and he has weights and exercise ideas and etc. -- but would I? Would I really go to the basement and work out by myself? Would I push myself? My sense is: no. Not for the static work. I need the motivation of a group and a leader.
Next week I'd like to try out the new Y. They also offer a free trial. They have early morning classes, but these only run for 45 minutes. Still, the monthly general membership is relatively inexpensive. It seems worth checking out.
I'm juggling a lot of factors, like price, location, and the appropriateness of the classes offered -- do they fit with my goals? Kind of interesting, actually. I'm interested to see where this all leads.
Depending on the results, I hope to have a better idea of when I might be able to return to running. Or perhaps more precisely how.
Meantime, I've been plugging away at the alternatives available to me, and feeling pretty good about it on the whole.
- I went for a 6km walk on Friday night. Unfortunately, I wore my heavy winter boots which apparently were not fully broken in, because by 3km they were causing blistering on my heels. And then I had walk all the way back again. Ouch. Next time I will wear my running shoes, regardless of the weather.
- Hot yoga class on Saturday afternoon. I can go to that class now that I'm not doing my long runs. It felt too easy, but there are some good elements to it; some stretching, some strength-work.
- Went for a short walk on Sunday afternoon. It was a beautiful sunny day, and in fact the forest trails were deep with mud. I wore my rainboots, the only footwear that didn't chafe the blisters (still wearing them, actually). I only went about 2km; mostly took photos and just enjoyed being outside. I also ran about 100m without pain, but then the pain started up again ... but those 100m were 100m of pure bliss. Reminded me what I'm waiting for. I hope I'll remember and appreciate the joy when the opportunity to run comes again.
- Tried to swim on Monday morning, but there was a problem with the chlorine which the early-morning lifeguards couldn't fix. Went home and straight back to bed. That made Monday's evening's hot yoga class feel easier than usual. Lots of downward dog flows which really work the core and upper body. I felt strong and at ease. Nice.
- Spin class yesterday morning. My legs were going super-fast. I felt strong throughout. Maybe my body likes resting.
- Swim this morning. 2500m. I did the first 2000m in 42 minutes, or slightly less. But I was tired by that point. I finished the last 500m on principle only and did not push myself too hard, just swam it out. Slowly. That last 500m took me 12 minutes. I aim for 10, and probably do most splits in about 10.5. My goal is get faster and finish my 2000m in under forty minutes. Which would still be slow, but would show some improvement. I haven't really gotten any faster in the last six months. All I seem able to do is improve endurance rather than speed. I just swim, however. Well, I guess that's basically how I trained when I ran, too. I just ran--as fast and as far as I could.
- Tomorrow morning I am going to try out a spin/strength class at a facility I've never been to before. It's not too far from my house. The price is comparable to the spin class I'm currently taking BUT it's only 45 minutes, which sounds short. I'm doing a free trial. We shall see.
- Also doing a free trial at a different gym on Friday morning. This is especially short, only half an hour, but it's a strength class. I've never done strength or resistance training, and my sense is that's where I'm headed with this injury -- working to create balance in the muscle groups, stability in my core. This gym is very nearby, which is why I'm trying it, though all of its classes are short, no more than half an hour. I could do strength/resistance training on my own -- my husband is a kin and he has weights and exercise ideas and etc. -- but would I? Would I really go to the basement and work out by myself? Would I push myself? My sense is: no. Not for the static work. I need the motivation of a group and a leader.
Next week I'd like to try out the new Y. They also offer a free trial. They have early morning classes, but these only run for 45 minutes. Still, the monthly general membership is relatively inexpensive. It seems worth checking out.
I'm juggling a lot of factors, like price, location, and the appropriateness of the classes offered -- do they fit with my goals? Kind of interesting, actually. I'm interested to see where this all leads.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)